Union minister Muraleedharan to begin 3-day visit to Bahrain from today

Muraleedharan’s visit to the middle eastern country comes months after India and Bahrain on April 7 decided to bolster their bilateral defence and security cooperation including through regular consultations in the areas of maritime security, combating piracy and counter-terrorism.

Union minister of state (MoS) for external affairs V Muraleedharan will visit the kingdom of Bahrain from Monday till Wednesday and hold talks with the country’s ministers and dignitaries. This will be his first visit to Bahrain. Muraleedharan’s visit to the middle eastern country comes months after India and Bahrain on April 7 decided to bolster their bilateral defence and security cooperation including through regular consultations in the areas of maritime security, combating piracy and counter-terrorism.

According to a statement, Muraleedharan will also meet a wide cross-section of the Indian communities, including those in business, health, education and social service.(Twitter/ @VMBJP)

The decision was taken at a meeting of the India-Bahrain high joint commission which was co-chaired in New Delhi by external affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. Reiterating their condemnation for all forms of terror, both countries called upon all states to reject and abandon the use of terrorism again other countries.

According to a statement, Muraleedharan will also meet a wide cross-section of the Indian communities, including those in business, health, education and social service. The statement said Bahrain is home to around 350,000 Indians and the Indian community enjoys great goodwill from Bahrain's leadership. Both the countries share excellent relations with regard to politics, culture and economy and these relations have further strengthened over the past few years. They have also cooperated closely during the coronavirus pandemic.

“India-Bahrain bilateral trade is around USD 1 billion and has shown an increasing trend. Both countries are celebrating the golden jubilee of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2021,” the statement added.

Last year, Jaishankar visited Bahrain from November 24-25 and held talks on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. And in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bahrain, in the first-ever prime ministerial visit by India. During his two day visit, Modi launched the renovation of the Shreenathji (Krishna) temple in the capital city of Manama and also addressed the Indian community.